Obscure Presence
by Abigail Smith
Summary: Thom didn't realize how much he would have to sacrifice for magic... Thom's life in the Alanna Quartet, including his inopportune relationship with a familiar green-eyed lady.
1. Prolouge

Thom of Trebond leaned jauntily against the wall, his violet eyes scanning an ancient text held loosely up by a long-fingered hand. He had finished this page a while ago, but since other students occupied the library he couldn't let on that this was easy reading for him. Well, reading the page twice would commit it to memory more anyway, and he needed that for when he finally took the Ordeal of Sorcery.  
  
Most would probably take it, at youngest, when they reached thirty, but not him. After a year here he'd already determined that he was going to obtain the level of mastery much sooner. He fought down a smirk at what their faces would look like when he stopped playing stupid and they saw how powerful he really was.  
  
Someone called for dinner. Since it had been cleared up for him that the Masters asking him to attend meals was, in reality, an order he closed the book with a thumb holding his place and followed the other novices. While most took a tray and waited in line he automatically moved to his usual creaky table in the corner and sat in one of the battered stools.  
  
Thom had discovered that no one bothered him when sitting here. Even those that had not yet heard of the infamous "dumb" Thom of Trebond, seemed to get the hint that he preferred being alone. He flipped a yellowed page and swatted a fly absent mindedly from his ear.  
  
He was trying to pay attention to the book but his head was freezing. Doubtless so were all of the other boy's heads since they'd all been forced to shave their hair. Without thinking he preformed the simple spell to build up the fire in the enormous hearth.  
  
He cursed himself as the biggest idiot this side of the Roof of the World as many went silent, sensing the magic as they were taught to. He quickly looked up too, making his mouth go slack and his eyes cloud over. He felt the Master's eyes on him, but he continued to look dumbly into space as if totally unaware. He couldn't help a slight up curl of his lips at the mental picture of them shaking their heads disbelieving. That Thom child surely couldn't do any magic.  
  
"What the hell are they all lookin' at?" A tray clattered on the table as the noise slowly returned. He snapped out of his daze and raised his eyebrows at the impending lady. Her black locks looked like they had been slashed off rebelliously and hastily fixed to accent green eyes. A muddied brown dress showed a figure she hadn't quite grown into, yet he could see she'd be rather imposing when she did.  
  
"This is my table," he informed her simply, going back to his reading.  
  
"And where does it say that eh?" she questioned, hands on her hips. He had to shake his head to relieve himself of the mental picture of Alanna; his twin was still at the palace learning to be a knight in the guise of a boy. Wordlessly he picked up her tray to reveal the product of the first boring dinner he'd spent here, his name carved deep into the wood.  
  
The girl looked like she was about to angrily reply when..."Well, well, well, it looks like Freak's found a friend." Thom turned at the sneering voice, feeling the hair on the back of his neck stand up; nothing good ever happened when Devin was around. The tall novice was considered good looking with his gray eyes and golden hair growing back, but he didn't exactly have a sparkling personality.  
  
"Yep, I'm Loser, and you are?" The girl's curt reply made Devin's face go a hilarious shade of reddish-purple. Thom's determinedly idiotic expression dissolved into laughter. Once he came up for air, he saw that Devin had gone; but the girl hadn't.  
  
He pointedly ignored her and tugged the table closer, apparently engrossed in his reading, forgetting to look like an idiot. Was it too much to ask to be left in peace? If people didn't like him, who cared, he wasn't wildly fond of people in the first place. When he didn't hear her leaving he glanced up to see her looking at him oddly.  
  
"So you're not dumb, are you?" she asked him, sitting down, to his annoyance.  
  
"That can be said for at least one of us," his wounded pride caused him to forget that she was supposed to think he was an idiot.  
  
"And what do you mean by that?" her reply was an icy replica of what he'd expect Alanna to say.  
  
"Those that sit in corners reading aren't usually up for company," he remarked calmly, but his violet eyes revealed annoyance.  
  
Green eyes flared in return. "If your ego wasn't holding up the ceiling I'd..."  
  
"Oh come on, admit it. You were obviously drawn to me," he smirked, hoping this comment would make her leave.  
  
"Well, with that self assurance, I'm surprised the planets aren't revolving around your head," she snapped.  
  
"Then why are you still here?" he asked in a Master-like tone, flipping over another page in his tome.  
  
"Because everyone else here is unbearably dull," she told him, suddenly sounding tired. He looked up, eyebrows raised. "Perhaps I was also wondering why the Thom of Trebond, the school's "idiot", was reading that." She pointed to the hefty manuscript in his lap, taking a drink from her glass.  
  
"I think the brooding makes me look attractive," he said half-heartedly, trying once again to return to reading.  
  
She snorted out her water, and Thom shook his head at her resemblance to his sister. "You like books do you? Did you know something really boring happened to someone really ugly in the Dark Ages?" Her crooked grin revealed white teeth; her eyes sparked impishly.  
  
"No, I had no idea," he informed her sarcastically.  
  
"Well, you're being forced to read the right books then." She held out a hand, "Name's Delia." (A\N: Yes she's out of "character", but remember, we meet her years from now. You aren't born mean, something happens to change her; something later. I have a strange love for the ironic, and that is why I made her kinda Alanna-like. And remember the story is about Thom *circles him with black marker* not Delia *viciously crosses out with marker*. Right, back to the story... (so I like the Emperor's New Grove...sue me :P))  
  
He didn't accept her hand, but after a moment he offered, with a sardonic smile, "Freak." He supposed it wouldn't subtract from his studies to have an ally. While this woman didn't look like she would be entirely beneficial when he became a Master, she was entertaining. Besides, he had moronically revealed that he wasn't truly an imbecile and he couldn't have her spreading that around. He couldn't have Roger catching wind of him until he was ready...  
  
Delia laughed. "They do give wonderful nicknames around here don't they?" She poked at her food, "What is this crap anyway?"  
  
"At least it's dead," Thom remarked, eyes back on his page.  
  
"The cooks here must be talented indeed, to make vegetables look dead." Thom fought a smile, and won, of course. He had gotten used to keeping a strong mental hold on himself.  
  
"Best in Tortall." He heard everyone standing up, dinner was over; he stood up as well. On a shocking impulse, he added quietly, "I'm off to discover what happened to that wonderful man in the Dark Ages."  
  
"Good luck," he heard her snort behind him. Giving a light chuckle that held none of the sarcasm or cynicism it usually did, he left.  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
Wow, eh, that was supposed to be a songfic but I guess I forgot about the song. All hail state the obvious day. I wasn't really expecting a story so nothing's planned. This isn't supposed to be AU so if there's anything I missed I'd like to hear it.  
  
Disclaimer: TP is actually a two foot squirrel with sinus problems; I am the true owner of Tortall. 


	2. Stress

Yeah, I thought that I owed an explanation as to where the heck I've been for...well quite a while.  Haven't really been keeping track of time lately, but a sharp things can do that to you.  Anyway, my teacher's have deigned to milk every last second of school with projects and extra homework, so I've been swamped completely.  Stress is not a good thing for me.

But anyways, I also thought that I should probably warn everyone this will be a **very** unhappy fic. Warnings include masochism, self-mutilation, depression, drugs, rape...ect.  (It all seems to have fled my mind for a moment...) My twisted dark humor will probably show up every once and a while too.  Oh, and there's going to be yaoi, slash, m\m, whatever you want to call it.  I can't believe you have to warn for that sort of thing...but I'll stop that rant before it begins.

One more thing, the chapters are going to be really long, around 11,000 words or so, and since I've just started it will probably still be a long wait before the chapter.  Sorry.


End file.
